Garibaldi shipwreck expedition team fined

Czech diver dies in Croatia, divers´ team fined, its head expelled. A Croatian court today fined members of a Czech scuba diving expedition in Croatia for breaching the local scuba diving law, a decision that has nothing to do with the death of the team´s photographer earlier this week, Czech diplomatic sources have stated.

The expedition has allegedly been fined the equivalent to 107,000 crowns. Later today, Nova TV said the team had to pay the fine otherwise the team leader would be threatened with imprisonment.

The leader, Zdenek Partyngl, has been expelled from Croatia, Nova TV said.

The court proceedings reportedly were not linked to the death of the diver who did not survive his ascent from the 90-meters depth in the Cavtat area, becoming the 20th Czech who died in Croatia in this season alone.

Members of the Czech expedition, which monitors the wreckage of the World War One Italian cruiser Garibaldi, which sank along the Croatian coast in 1915, have been accused of transgressing the depth scuba divers are allowed to sink to.